The new Norm-al: Multi-musical star brings his hard-working talent to Naples

Norm Lewis has not appeared in "South Pacific" or "Hamilton." To the best of our knowledge. But it's hard to find a musical he hasn't performed in otherwise— not only performed in, but in a starring role.

"Phantom of the Opera"? He was the first African-American one on Broadway. He played the high-strutting Harold Hill role in "Music Man." For "Porgy and Bess," he played opposite Audra McDonald in its new production. He was Javert, dogged nemesis of Jean Valjean, in "Les Miserables" for at least three productions.

When he comes to Moorings Presbyterian Church for a Gulfshore Opera benefit Saturday, March 2, Lewis will bring some of the great music he's learned, part of it in duets with the opera's artists in residence.

He'll have a lot to choose from: Lewis has also starred in productions of "Miss Saigon"; The Who’s Tommy" ; "Dreamgirls," with Jennifer Holliday; and "The Fantasticks." He even did a run as the "demon barber of Fleet Street," Sweeney Todd.

Lewis concedes he has trouble defining a favorite.

"All of them are kind of like my little babies," he said. But "Captains Courageous" had special appeal."I had to learn a Caribbean accent for that role. It meant so much to me to learn a different accent and to learn a different story. It was based on a true story.I did so much research for that one."

With his patrician good looks, Lewis has been cast on TV roles as well: "Chicago Med," "Gotham," "The Blacklist" and "Blue Bloods." Viewers may know him best, however, in his recurring role as Senator Edison Davis on the ABC-TV drama "Scandal."

Lewis said he spends much more time as a singer than as a senator.

"I go where the work is," he joked. "But musicals have really been sort of my foundation. I started singing in church, then in high school and developed a love for it."

He started college as a business major, but admits he ended up in musical theater. While he was earning his daily bread in the advertising department of the Orlando Sentinel, Lewis was still singing around town.

"I did contests in Florida while i was still working for the newspaper. Someone saw me and offered me a job on a cruise ship, and that's how it got started," he said.

Lewis began working on The Big Red Boat, a Florida-based cruise line that worked with Disney characters. He wasn't on cruise ships long; fellow cast members persuaded him to go to New York, and the rest has been the history Lewis had been hoping for.

He's working on a movie this year, although its story and title are under wraps for the time being. Another is in the can, set for a 2020 release. Lewis says he sometimes does a double take to see himself on TV long after he's gone on to other projects.

"There are some television shows coming out this year that I did last year. 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' the 11th episode (Netflix), just came out. It's hilarious," he said.

"It's a different skill set," he said of the difference between theater and television and movies. "You have to really bring things down on a movie set because you can basically read people's thoughts on film. In theater, you have to project a lot and emote a little bit bigger."

But he finds fascination in both.

"It's been a blast. I'm really lucky," he declared.

Lewis is part of a double bill: The Gulfshore Opera artists in residence will sing highlights from a Donizetti opera, "Lucrezia Borgia," known for its lush — and extremely difficult — bel canto singing.